If you missed the last chapter of REEF MOB, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221197568/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Please give a bump or leave a comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter! ***  Taniks struggles as we pull him closer, slowly, inexorably, to his doom. [i]~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ No. Just consume. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ There’s nothing to enhance or replicate. He’s just a monster that needs to die.[/i] SIVA falls silent within us as Taniks pulls harder, throwing all his strength into freeing himself. [i]No,[/i] we whisper within. [i]Never again.[/i] We pull tighter, and Taniks crashes to the deck of Kaliks-Syn, his defiant screams turning into panic as he slowly realizes there is no escape. SIVA’s growth spreads across him, infecting him from within – he shivers as he struggles, and through SIVA’s link, we can hear his panic, the denial he repeats to himself in Eliksni – [i]* Will not bend, will not break, *[/i] he mutters internally. *[i] Fight![/i] * * [i]You have no choice[/i], * we whisper back to him, speaking directly into his mind. * [i]There’s only one thing left for you, beast: death.[/i] * Taniks glares up at us, twinges of fear in his eyes as he continues to fight, to strive for life – across the room, we can feel the mixed emotions coming from the two Tanises on the ground, but we ignore them for now, focusing only on the mercenary – but at the word “Tanis”, images force themselves into our mind, traveling from Taniks through SIVA’s link to infect us back – [i]There have been thousands[/i], we realize suddenly as the years of Taniks’ practices are shoved into us, making us bear witness to their suffering. [i]Thousands and thousands have died because of this….thing.[/i] And then one of the thousands steps forward out of the nameless, faceless masses – she looks familiar, as though we’ve met her before, but – Suddenly, we realize who she is. [i]Ia’s mother. She bears a striking resemblance to her daughter, the same spunky hair cut, the same intense, golden eyes – we see her taken by the monster, her only thought screaming for her daughter to hide as Taniks rips her limb from limb – With shock, we feel the pain as Ia, just a small, wispy little girl, charges forward recklessly, drenched in her mother’s blood as Taniks drops the remains of her corpse. Ia attacks Taniks’ leg, punching, kicking, scratching and screaming a horrible cry of loss and rage that’s swallowed by the vacuum.[/i] We turn back to Taniks, our disgust and hatred for him rising even higher. * [i]Monster[/i], * we hiss through gritted teeth. * [i]As are you[/i], * he replies defiantly, still struggling against his bonds as SIVA takes him over. The nanoswarm works deeper into him, his body disappearing as he’s consumed completely. And we can only watch with a sense of satisfaction, of justice, as the great murderer, the traitor, the Shadow Thief, succumbs to his fate. The last thing we feel as Taniks’ final atoms are absorbed by SIVA is a small twinge of fear – in his last, the great Taniks was scared of death. [i]Good,[/i] we think, retribution coursing powerfully through us. [i]And good riddance.[/i] The ketch falls silent again – we finally turn to the two figures huddled near the fallen racks, the man cradling the woman as blood pours across the deck – [i]Ia.[/i] We feel a sudden sense of panic as we see the blood is hers – we rush forward to help her, but the man seizes the shock blade close to him and holds it toward me menacingly. “Stay back!” he shouts, his voice weak but determined. We halt for a moment, unsure of what to do, but SIVA’s still hungry – the red tendrils retract from where Taniks’ remains used to be and slowly start crawling toward Ia and the man – [i]No![/i] I think suddenly, forcefully, as the divide between SIVA and I widens once again. [i]~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ We don’t need him – ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ No, it’s over! ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~[/i] SIVA’s will drags my own, and I feel her strength growing – I counter with my own, exerting all my will against hers, and for a moment it stalls her – “Go!” I shout to the man, who remains frozen, just staring at me. “I can’t hold it, you need to – “ [i]~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ No![/i] I shout inside, but with a massive, jarring pull, SIVA completely overrides me – I watch helplessly, powerlessly, as the red tendrils stretch out and crawl toward the man – He gasps as they approach, gritting his teeth and swinging the shock blade back and forth at them – the tendrils rear up like serpents, ducking and dodging his swings, before finally striking and seizing the man’s hand – He screams as the tendrils squeeze, constricting his arm before finally snapping it, the shock blade falling harmlessly from his grasp, his arm twisted horribly – [i]No![/i] I scream to SIVA inside, but she’s no longer listening – The red tendrils worm their way into the man’s body as Ia watches listlessly, her eyes drifting out of focus as she hovers around unconsciousness – I force myself to look at her face as she sees the man consumed – there’s genuine pain there, loss, as though this man was a friend – [i]Please![/i] I shout to SIVA. [i]Stop! We’ve had enough – ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~[/i] But SIVA’s not listening to me anymore – she’s got what she wants, and nothing will stop her now – [i]Please…[/i] The man’s cries gradually grow fainter as the red growth spreads throughout him completely – within moments, he rises again, skin and eyes as red as mine, awaiting his orders. ~ [i]Consume Enhance Replicate[/i] ~ I bury my head in my hands as the echoes of the man’s fear reverberate through my mind. [i]…no….[/i] I force myself to look back to Ia, to convey my regret, to tell her it’s not my fault, that I can’t control it, I didn’t mean to – But Ia weakly grabs for the shock blade that the man dropped, her hand shaking as she raises it, pointing the tip directly at my face. “Who…..who are you?” she asks, her voice cracking, fading, as she continues to lose blood – [i]Who are you?[/i] The question hits me with the force of a supernova. [i]Who are you?[/i] And I find I have no answer. All of this, every choice I’ve made, every step I’ve taken, every enemy I’ve coerced to my side – all for nothing. [i]Who are you? She doesn’t even recognize me.[/i] I collapse to the deck, kneeling in front of Ia as the fight goes out of me, a dark depression setting in. [i]Who are you? I became a monster to fight a monster. I became the Dark to the fight the Dark.[/i] I look back at Ia, and I don’t need to see through her mind to know what I look like to her. ~ [i]Consume Enhance –[/i] SIVA doesn’t finish – her tendrils go limp as the fight leaves my body completely. ~ [i]Consume En –[/i] There’s nothing left for her to latch onto, no will left in me. She tries to use my body as a puppet, to continue feeding, to consume Ia next, but finds no response. I feel her confusion and panic distantly, like a half-remembered dream, as a numbing cold spreads throughout me, a feeling of listlessness – [i]Who are you? I’m a monster[/i], I think forlornly, bowing my head as Ia continues to point the blade at me. [i]I have become a monster.[/i]